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Wildcats
Rock Quakers 17-2. Advance to Championship Game.
The West Genesee Wildcats made a commanding statement in
Thursday afternoons state semi-final game with a dominating
17-2 thrashing of the Orchard Park Quakers at Rochester's
Aquinas Academy on a warm afternoon. With all components
clicking, the 'Cats put on a clinic for those in attendence
and as a result, the 'Cats will shoot for something never
done in New York State boys lacrosse history as they attempt
to win an unpresedented 4th consecutive title and 14th
overall championship.
The 'Cats got on the board first when Dave Osier let fly
with a quick feed from Jeff Ryan 2:21 minutes in to put
the 'Cats up 1-0. Two minutes later the Quakers evened
the score in what would be their only point for the majority
of the game when they came out of pile with the loose
ball just in front of the cage. Somehow Matt Ciambella managed to
get off a shot past Danny McKeon to knot the score at one
a piece and then it was lights out. With 6:21 remaining
Osier dished it up to Tim Spillett who was positioned
right out front where he deposited the feed for a 2-1 advantage
and the 'Cats never looked back. To this point outside
of the scoreboard, the opening stanzas time
of posession, ground balls and face offs were played pretty
much evenly until Jeff Ryan came streaking in from 20 yards
out and angling toward the cage flicked a quick pass to
Spillett who quickly converted it into a 3-1 lead from
just off the right side of Quaker net minder Jordan Ellis. Ryan
again delivered the goods, this time to Osier in a man
up situation where Osier found a small slice of daylight
between the pipe and goalie to push the lead to 4-1
with 3:29 remaining.
It didn't take Genny long to continue their momentum into
the second when Mark Cometti off a fast break found Ryan
one on one with the goalie to ratchet the score to 5-1
only 30 seconds in. By now Genny's defensive unit began
to establish the fact that nobody would get so much as
a glimpse of the real estate that McKeon was defending
with his big stick by turning aside any attempts to penetrate. Off
a forced turnover, Sean Leahy quickly moved the ball up
field to Andrew Vecchio who hit Spillett with a pass which
he deposited for a 6-1 lead with 9:47 to go and the Quakers
began to shake. Seemingly invisible to OP defenders, Spillett again
struck again after Cometti rolled off his defender and
found him all by himself briefly staring down the Ellis
before bouncing in the 7th Genny goal at the 9:16 mark.
A bit over a minute later Tim Griffin came streaking in
from the right side and skipped a shot off the Wegman's
Stadium carpet to boost the score to 8-1 with 8:05 to go.
Soon after while in a man up situation and with 6:12 left,
Osier fired off a cross crease pass to Spillett who again
tallied, this time with
a easy quick bouncer from the right side. The 'Cats weren't
done quite yet as Cometti again found the open man when
he dished
off to Jeff Ryan straight out who skipped a shot off the
carpet for a 10-1 lead. With 3:01 to go, junior middie
Kevin Courtney charged hard to the cage and took a feed
from Osier who was positioned behind the net. With two
steps, Courtney ripped off a bounce shot that found the
back of the net before being cross checked to the ground
but which padded the lead to double digits going into the
half. To make matters worse for the Quakers, not even
a two man advantage to end the half could muster a score for them as Genny's defense clamped down and denied their opportunities.
The 'Cats began the third with the same fervor as they
finished the second quarter when Spillett found Mark Cometti
5 yards out where he let fly a bounce shot that tucked
under the cross bar for a 12-1 lead with 9:46 remaining.
With 6:47 to go, freshman Ryan Barber strode in from 20
yards out before dishing off to Jeff Ryan five yards right
goal line extended where
he spun and buried his third goal of the day for a 13-1
lead. Off yet another forced turnover, Kevin Joy himself
barreling down the middle uncontested where he skipped
a bounce shot off the turf for a 14-1
advantage with 2:10 left and the bus began warming up.
With the game easily in hand, the Genny coaching staff
began to substitute freely beginning in the fourth quarter.
With 10:10 left, Jeff Ryan hit junior attacker Roby Farchione
who was unattended and 5 yards out front which ran the
score to 15-1. With 7:58 to go, PJ Motondo then notched
his first of the remaining two Wildcat goals off a fast
break before Brian Lalley finally tallied the second
OP goal of the day with 7:15 left on Genny net minder Jeff
Cleland. With 2:52 left to play, Motondo buried his second
of the day and final score for the Wildcats when he struck
from the doorstep prompting chants of "We want haircuts"
from the "Wildcat Nation".
The Wildcats (21-0) will get those haircuts tonight as they next
face Section 2's Niskayuna Warriors (22-0) at Cornell's
Schoellkopf Field on Saturday for the New York State title.
The Warriors stunned West Islip 11-6 in
the downstate semi-final who may have have been looking
past the Warriors in hope of a rematch with the 'Cats to avenge
last last years title game loss.
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
final |
| West Genesse |
4 |
7 |
3 |
3 |
17 |
| Orchard Park |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
Spillett 5-1, Ryan 3-3, Osier 2-3, Motondo 2-0, Cometti 1-3, Courtney 1-0, T, Griffin 1-0, Farchione 1-0, Joy 1-0, Barber 0-1, Vecchio 0-1
SAVES: McKeon 5, Cleland 1, McConnell 1
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| Click on an image
below to view a game highlight Quicktime movie |
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| Osier from the doorstep |
Spillett with his first |
McKeon with the stop |
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| Ryan finishes the fast break |
Swarming defense |
Osier threads the needle |
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| Cometti nets a goal |
Spillett tallies |
PJ Motondo finishes the fast break |
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